The Dragon is Reborn
by Karsus
Summary: During Hawkwing's time, Ranma came to Randland. And things changed... Primarily a Wheel of Time story. Read and Review. My answers to people's comments ADDED.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: **Most of the characters in this story do not belong to me. And as for those that I create, I have no objection to anyone using them. This is a work of fan fiction and I won't be making any money from it.

The story may contain SPOILERS for the Wheel of Time, Ranma ½, The Shannara series, and the Fist of the North Star series. And I think I can already beginning to feel pain for trying to write a story of this magnitude. Let's hope that everyone likes it, and that I manage to complete it somehow.

The story begins during chapter 2 of book 6 of The Wheel of Time . And it is naturally not written in the same level of detail as normal WoT. Even a small chapter can take a long, long time that way.

As the author, I would suggest that you skip over the History chapter, and come back to it later.

Both the history and chapter 1(Prologue) have been done rather quickly and are not really good quality, so bear with me, here. **The story really starts in chapter 2**, it would be best to skim through chapter 1, or read the chapter Summary at the start and move on… come back to it later, if you actually like my story J

Incidentally, I could use a pre-reader.

And please Review… **after you've read through the whole thing**. All of you should know that it takes a while for any long story to stabilize, so that you're not finding something new every five seconds J. SO don't judge the whole story on the basis of the first chapters.

Well, that's all for now.

So forward….


	2. History

**Background:** A martial artist named Ranma Saotome who lived in Nerima, Tokyo, had multiple fiancés, and a curse that turned him into a girl with the splash of cold water, and restored him with hot water, while in a fight with some of his rivals, was thrown from his world into the WOTverse, through an accident with a magical artifact in the possession of his friend/rival, Ryouga. The magical vortex brought him to the Wheel of Time world during the time of Artur Hawkwing. Through the use of a technique called the Soul of Ice(similar to the void in it's own way), he had his first encounter with Saidin. Then came hawkwing's siege of Tar Valon. Through this he escaped the persecution of the Aes Sedai. It took him some time to even learn the language of this new world. By then he had secretly been practicing channeling, and had noticed the taint, whose effects he naturally countered with his accelerated healing. That however did not prevent the erosion of the barriers between lives, caused by the taint. Although originally horrified, he came to realize that the person he felt within him, was really his past self. He found this easy to accept on account of his Shinto beliefs. And through mediation he came to merge with the other personality. Over the years more of his former selves emerged, these included many different people, who had all had a large impact on the people around them. One life that awakened was that of an Aes Sedai. Or more correctly the man some people considered the founder of the Aes Sedai. He took up his old self's mission to create a new Aes Sedai, when he had a sufficient understanding of the taint, that between him and his former selves, he could create a form of teaching to counteract it. The female Aes Sedai being what they were, he started with men. He attempted to train people so that they would be worthy of the Aes Sedai name. Orignally he set up his organization on a remote island, but later with the help of portal stones, moved offworld. The Aes Sedai grew, and women were also added, when they proved themselves worthy. So that a society came to be that was similar to what had existed in what was now called the Age of Legends. There were plenty of non-channelers there too. Which Ranma had brought to help with his Aes Sedai's moral training.

In the meanwhile Ranma also began a project that he had once started, in his previous lives, but never completed. A project that now inspired him. To create a way to bring the dead back to life, so that none of his students and loved ones would die needlessly. In time, the project was completed, though originally there were considerable limits to who they could bring back.

Centuries went by, and a schism was created in the Aes Sedai. There existed some who devoted themselves to knowledge to the exclusion of everything else. They came to be known as the seekers of truth. And in time another group also appeared, Warriors as they were called, who believed not in serving, but in reaching a level of perfection and enlightenment, through the fighting arts.

Over time, Ranma's resurrection methods came to be used to bring more and more people to life. These included many Wizards and Warriors, since their beings had more power, and were thus easier to isolate. In time, the group called Seekers became almost completely focused on recreating and improving the knowledge that other great humans elsewhere had achieved. These being the ones that were being resurrected. 

The Warriors continued on a simpler path, that lead them to great strength in the Power, though they came to use it less and less, as time went by. Evolving into a warrior society, especially when they came to be headed by the dreaded War Master Raoh.

Over time the resurrection process was refined, so that it was no longer limited to only very powerful beings. It still however required a point of reference to the life of the person to be resurrected. And people who had been reborn elsewhere could no longer be called by the same references.

Many people used this to bring back lost families, and the like.

The current situation is that there are around 60000 Aes Sedai, headed by Master Bremen, around 4000 Seekers, headed by the Master Ranma, and around 140000, Warriors. The numbers of the Warriors are partly due to the fact that their extreme training, allows people not normally so inclined, to gorw to the point that they can channel if they wish, and go beyond that eventually. 

All three groups now exist on separate planets. The Aes Sedai have grown beyond the level of those in the Age of Legends, though not by very much, yet. The Seekers, have knowledge well beyond the others but usually do not tend to interfere in the lives of non-Seekers. The Warriors, although as knowledgeable as the Aes Sedai do not make use of Ter'angreal except in training, a view shared by the Seekers, who attempt to perfect their own abilites without becoming dependent on outside help.


	3. Prologue

          Before Rand many people had claimed to be the Dragon Reborn, one such was Mazrim Taim. He was a man who could channel and had led a rebellion in his native Saldaea, until he was captured by the Aes Sedai, but somehow escaped. Lord Bashere, uncle to Queen Tenobia of Saldaea had come with over nine thousand horsemen, to put an end to him, though events had caused Lord Bashere to come into service of Rand al'Thor, the true Dragon Reborn. 

And now the man, Mazrim Taim, stood before him. The maidens of the Spear that guarded Rand stood calmly, prepared for battle should the man in front of them prove a threat. The Andorans scared witless at the presence of another man who could channel, had been sent away by Rand al'Thor so they wouldn't do something foolish while pretending to be brave.

Tumad and the Saldaean soldiers who had escorted him in had their swords pointed at his back. Though he seemed unaware of it. 

          Bashere chose to break the silence, "You say you're Mazrim Taim?" sounding doubtful and Rand looked at him in confusion, thinking that only a fool would claim the name if it was not his.

          "I shaved Bashere, it is hot these days, hotter than it should be. Do you want proof of me? Would you like me to channel for you? Perhaps not. I remember you. I had you beat at Irinjavar until those visions appeared in the sky, but everyone knows that…" Taim said, his voice mocking. Focussed on Bashere he seemed unaware of anyone else. " I hear that you covered up what I did to Musar and Hachari and their wives. They shouldn't have tried to kill me under a parley flag. I trust you found them good places as servants, that's all they'll want to do now, Serve and Obey. All four of them drew daggers at me." Said Taim, relating what had happened.

"Taim, You!" Bashere said, his hand darting for his hilt…

To the side, hidden behind a Time Screen built with the Power, stood four figures, who had been watching the goings on for a while. One of them was a tall man, well over seven feet tall, with an aura of violence around him, next to him stood two men, neither reaching much higher than his shoulder. A blond haired woman stood a small distance behind them. They all seemed focused on the confrontation now occurring.

"Well, this is interesting. This man Taim deserves study, how old do you think he is Ranma", said one of them.

"Two hundred and fifty, perhaps three hundred. We can deal with him later, Right now we are here for other matters", said the man he was talking with. He was the shortest of the three, with blue eyes, and a beautiful face, that seemed to glow, still bearing some signs of his Japanese descent. The  faces of the others seemed to glow as well, to lesser degrees, though it was not really a glow. It was more as if life and power shone from them.

"Will you please help him grandfather?" said the girl.

She was answered by the tall man, while the man she directed her question to remained silent. "The boy is weak Ilyena. He thinks only with his emotions. Thinking only of what he must and must not do, without understanding the purpose behind his thoughts, or just how foolish some of his actions can be. He is almost incapable of learning our arts, or the self discipline required to use them wisely. If we share our knowledge with him, he will almost inevitably cause more harm than good."

On the other side of the screen, the conversation had progressed, "Did you come here to see me, or to taunt Lord Bashere Taim? If you do it again, I'll let him kill you, my amnesty pardons your crimes but it doesn't allow you to flaunt them."

"Well you can't really blame him. It is not like you were much better at his age Ranma", one of the men.

"True, Bremen. However, by his age, I had greater understanding of what humans are, and what path I would eventually follow. He understands nothing. I agree that he is not to blame for his way of thinking, but that also does not mean that he deserves our help." said the man called Ranma.

"The fact is though that without our help, this world will suffer and die. We cannot allow that. We must help them." Bremen said directing his comment to Ranma.

The tall man answered instead, his voice heavy and rumbling,"You truly are Aes Sedai Bremen. We on the other hand do not see things with your limited understanding. Only through war and chaos and the human race grow strong. If we save them, then they will remain weak and ultimately perish. Only a war that crushes the weak, can restore the balance of the human race in this world. Only a desperate war can heal the disease that the existence of only these female Aes Sedai has caused here." 

"You think only of battle Raoh. You and your Warriors. How can you think that you have a better understanding of them than someone who has spent years studying the best ways of government. I say that the stability caused by these Aes Sedai solving conflicts and keeping the peace, can be useful, even if there is some stagnation. The human race might have died otherwise." Said Bremen.

"In this you are wrong my friend", said Ranma finally speaking, Raoh was reborn after having lived within me, he too bears within him the Musotensei, You have great sight, but some knowledge requires understanding that transcends the passing of millennia. You do not fully understand, the implications of your actions as yet. Even so, there are ways to heal the human race. Too much war might could create another type of imbalance. We must tread carefully if we indeed decide to help these people"

"So you are going to help them" said Bremen. Raoh focused a dark look on him.

"That is yet to be decided"

Ilyena spoke up then, "At least, you can speak to him grandfather. He is Lews Therin after all. At least help him with the taint, he may be able to solve his problems then. Did you hear him just now, he spoke of the crimes of the Forsaken during the War of Shadow, no library of this time contains all of that information."

They all looked at her. It was clear that each was thinking different thoughts.

Over in the court yard Taim had just suggested a compact between them. Rand al'Thor almost seemed to explode with rage "No compact!" he growled, "I am the Dragon Reborn Taim! Me! If you have knowledge you can make use of, I will, but you will go where I say, do as I say, when I say!"

Without a pause Taim got on his knees, "I submit to the Dragon Reborn, I will serve and obey", he said, an almost smile playing on his lips. At this Rand almost seemed to quiver with rage.

"Perhaps, we should simply ignore him, and work on our own. Giving him weapons and knowledge will only invite disaster, unless we force our self discipline training on him, since he won't be willing to learn it himself. Not to mention that if he meets with any of the younger Warriors with that kind of attitude, he'll be lucky to escape with his life." Said Ranma

"The Warriors also need to learn more self-control", said Bremen.

"They serve their purpose" Ranma replied.

The Aes Sedai, the Warriors and the Seekers lived separately, so misunderstandings did occur from time to time. Plus the Warriors were a society of very powerful channelers. They worked fine among themselves, but they had never been meant to live among non-channelers. Working for ever greater strength and knowledge of the ways of battle, a non-channeler would be little more than cattle to them. For that matter even Bremen's Aes Sedai would be cattle although they had grown to a level beyond the Aes Sedai of the so called Age of Legends. As well that the three groups resided on separate planets. Since none of them would be particularly likely to appreciate the others. The seekers under Ranma had their own objectives, that lay somewhere between the Aes Sedai's desire to serve, and the Warriors desires for pleasure and power. And none of the groups really considered the others to be on the right path.

For centuries now, since the original split, the different groups had gone their own way seeking their own forms of perfection. And today, Bremen, Ranma, and Raoh, the heads of each of the organizations of male channelers(though the Aes Sedai also contained female channelers), would make a decision that could end the separation of the groups, leading to a contamination of the ideals upon which the organizations were built, through the mixing with the other groups, and none of them were pleased at the prospect. Yet the plea made by Ilyena Therin Moerelle on behalf of her former husband, must be judged, and judged fairly by the Laws that Ranma and the other First Ones had set up when they first created the three organizations…

They watched. On the other side of the screen Taim was talking about finding male channelers, "…I can do both, I have found five over the years, not that I was really looking, but only one had the courage to go beyond the testing. He went mad after two years. I had to kill him before he killed me."

"You've withstood it a much longer time. How?" asked Rand

"Worried? I don't know how. I just did. I'm as sane as… Lord Bashere here."

Over behind the screen Ranma said, " I estimate three years before the madness takes complete control of the young dragon."

"Fools deserve their fate." Said Raoh.

"I vote that we help them." Said Bremen.

"Oh very well… but I will not bring my Seekers into this." Said Ranma and then looked towards Raoh, "This could be an interesting opportunity. We would have people to teach from the start, with varying backgrounds. Variety is a good thing. Perhaps they will even produce a few True Warriors."

Raoh looked at him a twinkle in his dark eyes, "I will accept your choice in this brother."

Ranma smiled, a strange smile, and a cold light shone in his eyes. Raoh smiled also, the air of violence about him grew as in preperation for battle. Bremen seemed to look a bit uncomfortably at the two. And Ilyena moved behind them, as Ranma waved his hand and dissolved the shield, and suddenly they were standing in a small clearing of people a small distance from Rand. All heads turned towards them.

          Rand had been talking to Taim, he was worried, Taim may seem to be sane but, he seemed unconcerned by the maidens standing ready to kill him should he seem a thread, not to mention Tumad and his men standing behind him with swords. Was it bravery or a kind of madness. Then he felt something. A disturbance in the pattern, like he remembered sensing once near a vacuole a long time ago. A vacuole? And then he saw four people standing before him. All three men were tall, with powerful frames. Two were about the same height as him, but the other stood considerably taller. He would have been amazed at the strange group with some golden haired woman standing behind them that he now noticed, except that he felt… Power! A weight of authority and inner strength he had never before imagined. And he could feel violence from the tall one. It was not like the power of Saidin. All he could say about it was that it made his skin crawl. The one in the middle, seemed familiar for some reason, there was a peaceful feeling coming from him. If peace could be coupled with imminent and unstoppable death. The last one just seemed relaxed, an air of wisdom seemed to surround him, but even in him Rand could sense a feel of power he had never before imagined. Instantly he reached for Saidin through the Angreal, drawing as much as he could, and he felt as if Lews Therin had tried to reach for it as well. "Who are you? What do you want?" he said loudly, feeling a sliver of fear crawling down his spine as he looked at them. He felt that Taim had also seized Saidin. In fact he was holding even more than Rand himself could unaided. He had thought himself as strong as it was possible to be, but obviously he was wrong. He looked from Taim back to the people, the maidens had all moved forward towards them, spears raised, and Tumad and the rest were taking defensive positions to protect him and Bashere. Something told him that if he fought these people he would not survive, and neither would the maidens. And if he attacked them… what if the woman behind them got hurt. No! he had to think of his own people, only…

The one in the middle spoke, "Come now child, is that any way to speak to your grandfather" a smile spreading across his face, though that did not decrease the fear that Rand was feeling. And he could see that the maidens had also become aware of that feeling. The look in some eyes he saw, was that of surrendering to a foe that you could never fight, and that in itself seemed to be killing them as they fought to maintain their positions, he hated seeing them like this. The men all seemed to have turned to statues.

"Now, now " the man said, looking at the people around him "You needn't fear for your lives, we mean you no harm at present."

As the man's words began to sink in, Rand finally regained some control of himself, now that he thought about it he thought that some of that fear had come from Lews Therin, along with a few pleas to run, to escape somehow, then a thought occurred to him, "You say that you're my grandfather?" he directed to the man in the middle. "I don't believe you. What proof do you have?" said Rand though he could see now why he had felt that the man looked familiar, something about that face seemed similar to his own, though he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"Since the proof born of an analysis of blood would be too much for someone like you to comprehend. I won't bother trying to show you right now. You will have to take my word for it, that I am your grandfather and am here to consider helping you along with my brothers here." The tall man looked to the man on the other side of his supposed grandfather with the utmost contempt.

"As for the possibility of my being an enemy." The man said, and Rand felt him sieze Saidin, he thought he felt the air ripple around the man, and the amounts of Saidin he felt… That one man was holding more than him and Taim combined, maybe more than ten times he and Taim combined. He could not match it without Callandor, he channeled, 'balefire', he thought desperately and he felt Taim trying to weave something something that would but the men to pieces, and then suddenly he felt a barrier between him and Saidin, and as Saidin left him he saw that Taim had also been shielded. The man did not look pleased. The fear rose in him again, this time echoing Lews Therin, and he could hear Lews Therin's voice… 'why didn't you run when I told you to. You waited too long…' and then he heard a wail inside his head, as Lews Therin began to vanish, only something stopped him. Lews Therin was still there. He looked towards the man who had claimed to be his grandfather, and saw that he was using some some weaves on him. Weaves he could not even begin to understand. Not with all of Asmodean's teachings. Something seemed to be happening to Lews Therin, he felt a burst of pain, and then it was as if Lews Therin had fallen unconscious. But there was one thing he knew. Lews Therin was now sane. And that when he woke up again, Rand would no longer be able to hold his body against Lews Therin's will.

"What have you done?!?" Rand asked in terror. 

"I have healed the madness within you, and healed your former self" he replied.

"I am Rand al'Thor, this is my body, and my life, not Lews Therin's I won't let him have it!" Rand screamed.

Everyone around him looked shocked at what he said, no doubt thinking that he had gone mad.

"We will speak when you have come back to your senses." Said the man, he saw the man channel, there was pain, and then suddenly he was asleep dreaming. Dreaming of his wife and the time they had had together. Dreaming of Ilyena."

Ranma stood there as his grandson fainted from the beginnings of the merging process. Of course, his protectors were not taking his sudden fainting well, and seemed to correctly deduce that he was responsible. Especially when he opened a gateway and sent both Rand and Taim to the other side. The Saldaeans and the Aiel maidens both surged forward, in attack. 'Choices…' He wove Saidin lifting them all into the air, and binding their hands and feet. 'Childish behavior.' He thought. Then he looked to wards Bashere. The child was one of his agents. "It will take sometime for Rand to adapt to the changes from his healing. He will likely not wake for a week, and even so, I will not allow him to return for at least a week afterwards, once I'm sure that he can handle the taint on Saidin on his own. Among other things. Keep things stable here until we return."

"Yes M'Lord. I will…" Bashere started, but Sulin broke in. "We carry the honor of the caracarn. We must go with him to see to his protection."

'Childish' Ranma thought again, still he knew better than to point out that they had not done a good job of it, and that Rand should not really be expected to need it. Obviously Raoh disagreed with him.

"You pitiful creatures couldn't protect him from a hoard of angry insects, much less the forces he must face. Your presence only serves to make him more vulnerable by having him have to take care of you as well." Said Raoh.

Bremen just remained silent.

'Oh well…' He focused on Sulin, "I am Shaiel's father, and thus the child's grandfather. He is with family. He will be taken care of". He could see the shame on the maiden's faces. 'No point in causing needless problems'. "Select one other besides yourself and come with me." Ranma said. 'Watching these Aiel interact with his guardians might be interesting.' 

He released the lot, and  the maidens except for Sulin again surged forward, though this time the Saldaeans atleast had come to their senses. He picked them up again, and this time tied a knot that would release them in a few minutes. "On second thought, your maidens lack all self control, pick one of the Saldaeans and come."

Bashere who had been watching all this, decided to speak at this time, "If I may sir, Tumad is the head of the guard here. Perhaps you can take him."

Ranma only nodded, then directed his attention at Sulin and Tumad, motioning for them to come, as he and the rest walked through the gateway. The workers had already moved Rand and that child Taim's body to the restoration wing.

Well he'd give Sulin and the other child a chance to see that Rand was alright, and then leave them in Ilyena's hands. So he could get back to his work. He had better uses for his time than baby sitting. Especially If he was going to help Rand or Lews Therin as he would soon be again, train students. 'The Dark One might yet prove to be an interesting adversary.' As a small smile seemed to appear on his face.

END CHAPTER 1 


	4. Chapter 1

Lews Therin woke up in bed. He seemed to be in a restoration ward of some sort. People coming and going, and he could see Ilyena sitting to the side. 'What happened?' he thought to himself. The last thing he recalled… He was trying to place the seals on the Dark One's prison "Did we win Ilyena? Is the war over?" Ilyena looked at him. He saw a shadow pass across those beautiful eyes.

"You succeeded in placing the seals, but the Dark One counterattacked, tainting Saidin, and all the male channelers slowly went mad." She said

"You're joking aren't you? But if all the male channelers went mad, then why am I still sane, and why don't I remember any of it."

"Look at yourself Lews Therin." Said Ilyena

And he did, there were dragons coiled around his arm, and herons branded into  hands. 'Strange tattoos' he thought, then he looked more closely, and saw that the coloring was different. And the fingers seemed shorter. He jumped out of bed looking for a mirror. "Lews Therin…" he heard Ilyena say, but he found what he had been looking for. The image he saw in the mirror shocked him. He couldn't believe it.

"How?" He asked Ilyena, and she sighed. "You died Lews Therin, and you have been reborn in a new body."

Now this was completely unexpected. Sure he'd heard theories and discussions between scholars about the nature of life and death and rebirth, but somehow, he'd never thought about it in relation to himself, except perhaps wondering once in a while who he might have been in those different times, if he indeed was born before.

"Tell me what is going on Ilyena" he said, as he reached for Saidin to get a feel of it. And then he felt it. A dark filthy sludge seemed to enter him. It made him want to vomit. His eyes darted to Ilyena in shock, as memories started to come to him, and a name. Rand al'Thor.

Ilyena looked at him, her eyes unfocussed, and from her face she seemed to be remembering some horror, then her eyes came back to him "This is going to take a while to explain" Something told him that he was not going to like it.

Two days had passed since he had awakened. He had spent time with Ilyena, catching up on events. He had also spent sometime with his children, who it seemed had all forgiven him and moved on. He could now remember all of his life, or both lives as it may be. Perhaps it was not his fault, but some of his actions as Rand al'Thor had been very embarrassing, he wasn't sure he would feel himself worthy of looking someone else in the eyes for a long time to come. No, best not to think like that. His grandfather, in two lifetimes it seemed, was quite capable of listening in on thoughts, and exacting punishment afterwards for anything he disapproved of. He shook his head. The Legendary Kohr Therin Tamyrlin Sauhran , his grandfather had died when he was twelve years old, after living more that two thousand years. He had been a legend. Some thought him responsible for having created the Aes Sedai, which he had in a way back in their age, and again now it seemed. He remembered respecting his grandfather a great deal, before he had died, but of course, he had been old by then. Not so now, and now he could see that great presence that many of the older Aes Sedai had spoken of when talking about his grandfather. Of course, now it was even more prominent. He had changed much. As he had said it was partly the effect of rebirth, and the fact that he was no longer an Aes Sedai, but a Seeker of Truth. He had met a few of his grandfather's apprentices as well. They all had a feel of power and knowledge to them that was alien to his own time. And they did not believe in serving anyone but themselves. He thought that that was what bother him the most, that these people could devastate the Dark One's forces, and yet would not lift a finger unless they themselves were threatened. And The Warriors were an even greater horror than the seekers, living for power, living to kill almost, and they outnumbered both of the other groups combined. Unfortunately they wouldn't help either(not that he was sure he wanted their help), to them the shadow's forces were too pathetic to bother fighting. At least the council of Aes Sedai would be willing, assuming that his grandfather let him near them. His point of view was clear enough. He would not allow his creations to be contaminated by the people of Rand al'Thor's world. Whether or not it was their fault for being in their current state. He was partially surprised that his grandfather didn't blame him for the tainting of Saidin. Blaming himself for it, had gained him hours of torment for foolishness. Yes he was like the stories about him. The stories said that one day he had simply walked into the Hall of Servants, and told them that he was taking command of the Aes Sedai. He had been respected and feared even then. Under his command, all of the other channeling factions had been absorbed by the Aes Sedai along with their knowledge. Histories about the time were inaccurate, and what was known was mostly rumor. But it seemed as if his grandfather had some power to him that caused people to bend to him. He had seemingly united the world by his sheer will… Lews Therin shook his head again. 

This world he had reawakened to was most strange. At least he had Ilyena with him, and his children. All but one of them had been resurrected, and now they were all grown up, and Aes Sedai in their own rights. Ahh Sara Therin, his youngest daughter, it seemed that she had already been reborn by the time Grandfather had advanced the ressurection process to being able to bring back whoever he wanted. Before that the system had been limited to only those people who had great power of their own, or were directly linked by spirit to his Grandfather, like Yuria, and Raoh. He felt his heart stop as the name came to his mind. Grandfather said that he was actually far more controlled and loving than he had been before. Which was terrifying considering what he felt like now. No best not to think of that.

Well there was a bright side to all of this. Things were definitely not as bleak as they had been with Rand al'Thor. For all that he was not getting all the help he might want. He would at least be with his family, and his children had chosen to serve with him in the upcoming war. And his grandfather, Master Bremen, and… he coughed, they would be with him to help train the people of the new world, to whatever level could be managed, and they at least unlike the Tarr'han Aes Sedai, would naturally be allowed to fight to save their world. And soon he would have all the training needed to handle the taint. Yes, things would turn out well. He just had to keep telling himself that.

**End Chapter 2**


	5. Chapter 2

The day came, two weeks had passed since he had been brought to the Seekers Keep on Sarakh Nor. They would be returning to Balee, as the planet had been called in the Age of Legends. Home. Though after spending a this past week at the Keep, he wasn't sure that he wanted to go back to that world anymore. There was so much to learn here that he and the Aes Sedai of his age had not imagined. Grandfather, or Master Ranma as he preferred to be called, had given him permission to stay if he wished, if he was willing to give up time on Balee. He had refused, saying that he was needed. Fortunately, there had been no objection. Master Ranma wanted his descendents to achieve their maximum potential. But with resurrection as easy as it was for the Seekers, it didn't matter if he started a few hundred years later. Provided that the Dark One didn't destroy his soul as he had threatened. Master Ranma was adamant that it was impossible. But then the Dark One's power was different from any of the powers that the Seekers used, the limits of the Dark One's powers were uncharted. Perhaps he could do what even the Seekers thought impossible. 'Do not think just because something is the most fearful you can imagine, that it will most likely come to pass. Focus on knowledge not dreams.' A good attitude he thought. He walked to the Traveling chamber. He had yet to see this weave made in front of him. The last time he had been unconscious. A gateway across not only worlds but dimensions, and yet still somehow capable of coming out at the exact spot the channeler required. And without any Ter'angreal. Something he had learned here. Neither the Seekers nor the Warriors approved of the use of tools to achieve their objectives. You worked to increase your own abilities, not to create crutches for yourself. Unlike the weak Aes Sedai, or so he had been told. For some reason though the other teachers and apprentices at the Keep, had not considered him as one of those weak Aes Sedai. Something to do with his ta'veren abilities and their potential or so he gathered, though they did not approve of his avoiding training, but they did not particularly mind either. Strange.

Now that everyone was gathered, Master Ranma, Master Bremin, Master… uh… he might as well get used to it… Master… "It's Raoh boy", he heard a powerful voice  speak in his mind, and he knew where it had come from, as he looked at the big man. The man seemed to be smiling. Ilyena who was standing next to him, seemed to be working at keeping a straight face. Obviously she knew what he was thinking. Not that she could read minds yet. That could be a serious problem with a wife. But she knew him well, and she knew about his uh… encounter with the Dark Master. He shuddered remembering the experience, anyway, two of his sons,  Josh, and Alim were standing next to Ilyena, and his daughter Selene was with them. He looked at them, they had all grown up well. His daughter was as beautiful as her mother, maybe more so. Sulin and Tumad stood ready to jump through the gateway as soon as it opened. More for returning home, and getting away from this place, then to protect him he suspected. They had had a very hard time here. All of their fighting prowess and abilities had counted for nothing here. It was like being changed back to a helpless baby. Nobody liked that feeling. He knew, he had felt something similar. Especially in his meeting with… uh… the Seekers. And there was Taim, though he looked subdued from what Lews Therin, or Rand in this case, remembered of him.

He felt his grandfather seize Saidin. Taking in more than eleven times what Rand could manage, without showing any signs of strain at all. This was most likely one of the reason that the Seekers looked down on tools. They really could do without them. He saw the beginnings of the weave. It had some similarity to a normal gateway, but it seemed to be mingled with complex wards of some sort, and there were eaves in there that were too fine to make out. From what he could gather from what he had been told… and had not fully believed until now, having seen few examples… it was a probe of some sort, being used to correctly locate their destination, and make sure that the gate would be stable, and that there were no traps nearby or people likely to be caught in the weave, and then he saw, what looked like the weave for another gateway within the gateway, and then suddenly there was a swirling vortex, the air shifted moving towards it, and then it opened. He could feel a breeze coming through it, though the gateway was compensating for most of the pressure difference. His grandfather… Master Ranma had told him that in older times people had not been adapted to such quick pressure changes, and would have suffered badly from the sudden change in air pressure. But over the millennia, the human race had adapted to it, so that they could handle it with minimal annoyance.

Sulin and Tumad jumped through. Bashere and some of the Aiel were waiting on the other side, along with a few Saldaeans, he could tell that they had just arrived by their attitude, which meant that Bashere had indeed been aware of when exactly they would return. And he had chosen to keep the number of people he brought as small as possible.

They all crossed back into the courtyard. And this time it seemed that even the non-channelers could feel the sheer power that emanated from the three masters. They had been suppressing it when they first came. This time they were not. They all seemed to be backing away from the group. The Wise Ones standing there with their more acute channeling senses simply fainted. Which did not exactly inspire confidence in the rest. He moved quickly to forestall any unfortunate incidents, by introducing the people he had brought with him. The few maidens there were shocked to hear that Master Ranma was Shaiel's father, though they could respect the power that he seemed to give off. He introduced Bremen. And then… uh… he felt a sharp pain in his head, followed by a 'fool, you are no longer Rand al'Thor, it is time you grew up' running through his mind. Then suddenly he could no longer remember why he had been afraid of Master Raoh. So he moved on with the introductions. Everyone seemed surprised when he introduced his old wife and children, although he didn't mention the children part. The maidens were obviously not pleased and maiden hand-talk flashed, but a stare from Sulin stopped any foolish action on their part.

Master Ranma nodded his head towards Master Raoh, who nodded back. Then Master Ranma looked towards him. "Expect some of your Aiel, and perhaps others to vanish today." He said, then he looked towards Master Bremen. "You know what we'll be doing. Expect us in three months or so. We'll be on Sarak-five if you need us."

"Very well, I will handle things here. I assume you want Taim and the children to start their project?" said Master Bremen

"Yes, brief them on the particulars, and help them set it up. Then get on with your own work. I hear that Sarak-two is a beautiful place." Master Ranma replied.

He didn't really understand what that was all about, or why Master Bremen would seem displeased, except that he was.

"Lews Therin, you are also going to be teaching. Eight or ten should suffice for you though, especially considering the other work that you will have to be doing. But you must have channelers around you. Until you do however, keep one of your sons nearby." Master Ranma said to Lews Therin, and then Masters Ranma and Raoh vanished in a flash of… he couldn't say. Yes, there was definitely much more to learn. But for now he had work of his own, so he would see that his party were found some living quarters in the palace, and then he'd have to find out what had happened in his absence. And then get around to fixing Rand al'Thor's blunders. Maybe Ilyena would have a few ideas. And then he had to work on improving his mental control so he could perfect his defence against the taint on Saidin. Yes, this was going to be a long day.

[Authors Notes: yes I know it feels overdone. But I don't feel like reviewing it, or I'll never get to the interesting parts]


	6. Chapter 3

          The first thing Lews Therin found after everyone settled in, and he had dealt with the overly depressed maidens - who were near suicidal from the shame of failing him so badly - was that there were Ogier sitting in the palace. Wanting to meet him. Ogier had been useful during the War of Power, very useful. But it seemed that they had turned into almost complete pacifists. Which might mean that he would end up having to defend them as well. That problem would have to be fixed. Rand al'Thor had been worried about the Ways. They weren't a great problem except that he didn't know where they all were. So they might as well be gateways when an attack came through. More dangerous in that his wards wouldn't warn him, at least for human insurgents. So he told Sulin to bring him maps of all available places, and asked the servants to bring the ogier to the throne room. The servants seemed wide-eyed at this for some reason. Perhaps the protocols involved were different from what he expected. Not that his decision could be changed now. Plus it was better in general to not look like a supplicant.

          The ogier came in surprisingly little time. Unusual for such a slow going race. Ogier had been slow to act or make decisions even in his age, and from Rand al'Thor's observations, he would have expected to wait an hour more. Josh had brought with him a Molder – a computer Ter'angreal that could change the structure of a building into whatever was needed in only a few minutes, as long as the materials were available – and with it he had changed the entire nature of the Throne Room in Caemlyn. The walls were all now covered with gold and silver dragons that seemed to shift and move, with the symbol of the Aes Sedai in the middle on both sides. Air Exchangers had been installed to make the air fresher and of a more comfortable temperature to the people who came. Also the walls were luminescent causing the room to be lighted without the need for glow bulbs or the torches that were in use in this era. And of course, all this lead to the throne, made in such a way as to make the person sitting on the throne seem larger than life. Quite impressive he thought. When the three Ogier arrived along with the maidens – left to themselves they would likely never leave him alone again -  he saw from their reactions that they seemed to agree with his assessment. For a while, they seemed not to be able to speak, staring at the dragons. "They almost seem alive" said the younger of the ogier females. This seemed to bring them back to reality. "Your name sings in my ears Rand al'Thor", said the only male in the group. He was followed by the women. And they introduced themselves. He was Haman son of Dal, son of Morel. The older female was Covril daughter of Ella, daughter of Soongh. The young girl he recognized. Erith daughter of Iva daughter of Alar. The girl Erith's ears seemed to be sagging in worry over something. And Covril also seemed to have a stern look on her face. She looked towards him and said, "You will excuse me for being hasty, but a mother has some right to be anxious." She drew herself up, chin firm. "What have you done to my son?"

"I presume you are talking about Loial?" Lews Therin asked.

"Yes, what have you done with him. You told the Eldest of Elders of Stedding Tsofu that you would look after him… My Loial is too young to be outside, doing the things that you no doubt have him doing. Tell me where he is so I can take him back and see him properly married to Erith. She will settle his itchy feet." said Covril.

          Well this was an interesting problem. Loial obviously did not want to be married. For that matter, he could not say with surety that Loial was even alive. Which made him think of a serious problem. The lack of a decent spy network could cause disasters. Master Ranma seemed to maintain one spy per country, just enough to affect a few things and keep him informed. That was obviously not going to suffice, if he was to win a war. Well, first he had to deal with the matter at hand.

          "He is not here, as you have likely guessed. Last I saw him, he was setting out in good company. Beyond that, I will have to check. So you will have to stay here until I can determine how and where he is. And understand that it may well take some time." – some time to find out what had happened to him and Perrin, and then to decide what to do about it. After he dealt with some of the more immediate problems. 'I wonder if those Two Rivers people will be a decent source of channelers to start with.'

He was brought out of his thoughts by Covril speaking or shouting as it sounded, "Time, my Loial could be dying." He raised an eyebrow at that. What were they talking about. "We have to find him quickly and return to the stedding" she continued. Then he remembered, the Longing as these Ogier called it. He remembered a theory of some sort that the ogier had adapted to the stedding, and might not be able to live as well outside. Of course with Chora trees everywhere in his time. Much of what the ogier required from stedding was available everywhere. Only now there were almost no Chora trees. Yet another problem to be dealt with. He should have been more grateful for all of those things in his time. In this savage land into which he had been reborn, it seemed that the human race had decided to live like animals. Putting no real effort into rebuilding civilization. If he was going to help these people then they were going to need better schooling. And a great many more changes, just to survive Tarmon Gaidon. He would never be able to do it all, all by himself. He had to delegate. Berelain would be a good place to start. She could likely find the required people. Except that she was in Cairhein. Maybe he should ask his grandfather for help… Like that was ever going to happen again. Which meant finding some decent lords or ladies he supposed, capable of doing what he required. Best to set up a body of competent people to solve these problems. If he could find them that is. Covril clearing her throat loudly brought him back from his thoughts. He looked towards Haman. Loial had said that Haman knew more than anyone else he knew. "I suggest that you return to your rooms. I will get you word of Loial, when I can." He looked towards Sulin who was now standing in the throne room, along with gai'shain carrying several maps. He looked towards Haman again. "While you are here, I need information on the positions of the Waygates. It seems that no one here knows the location of all of them. So I would be pleased if you would help mark them on the maps that Sulin has brought." He motioned towards Sulin. "Sulin go with them, and bring the maps to me later." His voice had taken on a tone of command, and from the expression on Sulin's face she was caught between not liking it, and approving of it. He also wanted her to have people keep an eye on them. Impetuous ogier could cause problems, except there was no way to say it without them knowing about it, or at least knowing that something was kept from them, if he kept the conversation behind a shield. He would have to develop some hand signals, or code phrases. Though the Aiel possibly already had something of that sort, even discounting Maiden handtalk. Now he would just need to learn some of the necessary gestures. He could deal with it later. 

The ogier were not pleased with being dismissed, but there was little they could do at the moment. He would decide what to do about the waygates after he had analyzed their strategic value. He suspected that wards would suffice for most.

Now back to more immediate problems. He had to get his hands on some decent informations sources, and gain channelers to back him. Not to mention that food storage could be a problem. As things were, there was no way to prepare for a war, with even a minimal expectation of success, if it was anything like the War of Power, or even the Trolloc Wars that had come afterwards. Yes… There was much work to do. He wondered if he could get his hands on a memo-manager somewhere, as he walked towards his rooms where he had left Ilyena, maybe she'd have some ideas.


	7. Chapter 4

It was two weeks later that he returned to Cairhein. It was time to continue his plans to unite the world, in preperation for Tarmon Gaidon. Sammael and Illian would be the first step in that direction. Things in Andor had not turned out as he hoped, but choices had been limited, and his grandfather was right that there was need for some way to manipulate the shadow, according to their designs. The problem was that Rand al'Thor had promised the throne to Elayne Trakand. Out of love admittedly, but the fact of the situation was that the girl was undependable, if her letters were any clue. The girl was too inexperienced and would have been more hazard then help even if he could find her, which he had as yet not been able to. Though they had started on the beginnings of an intelligence network, it would take time until it matured to the point of keeping him abreast of all of the things that were happening. There was supposedly even a bunch of rebel Aes Sedai somewhere, that could become a problem. So the choice had been between wasting his time and resources on Caemlyn, with no benefits coming from it, or moving out. Of course, there was the possibility of conquering Andor. That would have been very useful, in opening the door to Ghaeldin and Murandy. A choice of leaving or not leaving Andor. Following or not following his grandfather's advice on the issue. Not really wanting to condemn so many people, for a strategic maneuver, he had let the people themselves decide. They could take his rule. He would appoint a council to rule over them, from among the most talented Andorans he could find. Or he would leave Andor, with a regent ruling in Elayne's name for when she returned. And if she did not do so in six months, the regent would work towards finding a suitable queen – assuming that she didn't name herself queen. The voting had been fairly transparent. Gateways maintained so that people from other cities could see that the voting was being done fairly elsewhere. The votes themselves laid in glass boxes. 'Foolish people' he thought. They had chosen in favor of having a queen, and his leaving. Of course, he had given the opportunity to everyone who wanted, to come with him, telling them that jobs and such would be found for them. Though of course, some would be soldiers. In essence around one third of Andor had supported him, while the rest clung to old ways. Some had no doubt voted out of fear, and some were naturally not willing to leave their homes, still there were plenty of people behind him when he left. Josh had built them some make shift homes with the Molder, with a central Air Exchanger system, for the village as it really was, situated in the mountains of Mist. With fertile farm land and such made available nearby, through use of the One Power. The farm land was Selene's work. The things she had discovered in her quest to understand all living things, were truly remarkable. Now this place and the Two Rivers was the only part of Andor he was keeping. For the rest… his plans were already in motion.

          Where the hunt for male channelers was concerned, Master Bremen had chosen people from everywhere it seemed, and had taken them, to wherever he intended to train them.

          Taim and Josh were looking for students of their own. They had settled on five hundred to start with. And Alim was working on the school where they would be taught. All he knew about it was that it was somewhere under the sea, with ter'angreal of his own development used to convert expired air into fresh breathable air, so that they would not need permanent access to the outside, although a few emergency escapes were being developed – For cases where it was unadvisable, or for some reason impossible to use the One Power. That had been Master Ranma's suggestion. Though Lews Therin did not believe that any such problems were likely to occur. Plus he had started teaching Damer and the rest who had survived the original testing. He was going to have to pick up a few students of his own when he had the time, and after they had gone through the basics. After all, he wasn't sure he could teach someone to overcome the taint completely.  The teaching was complex at best.

          But now it was time to deal with Cairhein. Bashere and some of his forces had already arrived, along with the Aiel, though of course, some had been left behind to maintain order in Caemlyn until Lady Dyelin, who had accepted the job as regent could take over control. 

          Lews Therin opened a gateway, and Sulin, along with the other maidens and sis'wai'aman jumped through first to his traveling room in Cairhien. He and Selene followed through, the maidens and sis'wai'aman already spread out. He let the gateway close. Sulin came back to report that all was clear. "I want to see Rhuarc and have someone find Berelain." Sulin flashed hand-talk with the other maidens and then led him to the room in which Rhuarc was working. Selene seemed amused at seeing the girl. Berelain in turn stared at Selene for a while, then focused on him.

          "So" he addressed the two, "what has been happening since I was last here?"

"Well, the most important thing that's happened I suppose is that an embassy has arrived from the White Tower." That was interesting. They must have journeyed from the time the letter had been sent to him to have reached this quickly with their primitive resources. He would have to consider carefully how to deal with them. "How many?" he asked, that was the most important question of course, if that girl Elaida had sent thirteen then he would have to be very careful. "Six" said Berelain. Well, that wasn't likely to be a problem unless they caught him off guard, which they wouldn't. He could keep Selene or the Wise Ones with him if necessary. The Wise Ones… well they presented a problem for another time. He would have to talk to them though. "Who have they brought with them, where are they staying?" he asked. "Well they have five hundred of the tower guard, headed by Gawyn Trakand. They are currently staying at Lady Arilyn's Palace."

Gawyn Trakand was a good kid from what he remembered of him. And five hundred Tower Guard, probably as an escort for him to the White Tower. He smiled. "Send a message to them that they can send three Aes Sedai to meet me tomorrow. And ask them to bring Gawyn Trakand with them." He said to Berelain.

"It will be as you say my Lord Dragon." Then she looked at Selene, who she had been looking at repeatedly the whole time. "May I ask who this lady is my Lord Dragon? If she is with you, then I assume that she is likely to be important. I cannot quite seem to place her nationality."

Lews Therin smiled. "As you know, there are people in countries that you don't know about, like in Shara, or across the Aryth ocean." Berelain stared and nodded. "Well" he said "Selene is an Aes Sedai from such a place.

Berelain's eyes widened at that. And she curtsied. Rhuarc on the other hand seemed to be looking for exits. "You needn't worry Rhuarc, Selene is completely trustworthy, and much like the Aes Sedai the Aiel served in the Age of Legends. And don't worry she doesn't hold the um… failure against the Aiel."

"That is true enough. The way of the leaf has it's beauty, but we could not expect you to hold to it, under your circumstances. On the whole, you have handled the situation well." Said Selene. Rhuarc seemed to brighten a bit at that, though he also seemed stung, probably at the memory of the Aiel having once followed the Way of the Leaf. 

"In any case, I have another task for you also. Berelain, I want you to analyze the situation and see what can be done to revive the farms in Cairhien, and also look into food storage, in preperation for Tarmon Gaidon. It would hardly do to be defeated just because the shadow destroys a few crops."

Berelain's expression seemed shocked, though why she should be he couldn't say for sure, she knew that the Last Battle was coming after all. She seemed to recover after a moment. "Uh… I think my lord that the way the weather is going, there may be no water for the crops to grow. Unless you can find a way to fix the weather my lord, I expect that there will be no crops anywhere, not just in Cairhien."

Ahh… the current state of the weather could lead to problems. True he had knowledge of weather, but nothing on the vast scale needed to fix the current problem. Maybe with a full circle of seventy-four, he could do something, or with the Choedan Kal, though that would be risky at best. Maybe using Callandor. He would have to see. It would take analysis before he could attempt anything at all. "I'll look into it" he said to Berelain.

"Yes my lord, if I may say my lord, you seem to be behaving rather…" she suddenly seemed to want her words back, but Lews Therin just waved his hand. "Nothing to worry about, have just been thinking more lately. Now is there anything other than the Aes Sedai, and the weather you'd like to talk about?"

That continued for a time, apparently some Cairhienin had become inspired by the Aiel and were taking up a version of ji'e'toh. Although it sounded foolish, it seemed harmless enough. Rhuarc was most displeased, but he told them to let the children play as long as nothing happened. They noticed his use of the word 'children', he would have to be careful about that, but fortunately it didn't seem to matter very much. There was also the issue of several thousand Aiel men suddenly vanishing without a trace. Rhuarc suspected that it might be because of the Bleakness, except that some of the names were among those he had never thought would fall. He glossed that over. No point in mentioning that he knew what had happened to them. In the end he told Berelain to arrange rooms for Selene and a few other guests who would be staying and left.

So he and Selene went to his rooms. Josh was there soon afterwards with his Molder. A few clicks on the controls and the rooms had begun to look like home. He'd already finished with the courtroom, he expected that the servants were in for a shock next time they went there. Of course, at present, the gates would not allow anyone but him and a select few to enter, though he had sent a message to Berelain to prepare a list of the people who should be allowed to enter without special permission. That list was going to exclude the Wise Ones, he thought in amusement. He asked Josh if he had any ideas regarding the weather, but he was even more blank on it than Lews Therin himself. Alim however was knowledgeable about weather patterns, and weather Ter'angreal, and could likely find a solution given a month or so, sooner would require ignoring their duties at the Sai'rjan, or 'School of Power' as it would be in what was now called the Old Tongue. He left after his job was complete. Which left him with Selene, who it seemed was tired and had decided to take his bed for her use. For all her three hundred years of age, she still had the beauty she had had as a child, he thought in a fond manner that only a parent can have for his child. He wondered when Ilyena would arrive. She was dealing with Dyelin and Andor. She knew the plan there of course, but there was no point in making it too obvious, so she would provide what help she thought was needed, and then return, which might still be a while.

The Wise Ones arrived a few hours later. From their look, they had obviously come with the intention of railroading him – quaint old idiom. Of course, seeing Selene had stopped that. When she was introduced as Aes Sedai, they were more than surprised. Once there tempo was broken of course, he never let them recover. He had been planning to wait, but this was as good a time as any. The thought of Wise Ones preparing for battle of course did not sit well with them. He had called them fools, which had not sat well with them at all. Still they had understood what he meant, after he explained the relationship between the Aiel prophecies saying that they would not survive to reach Tarmon Gaidon without him, and the Seanchan and their damane. Some had tried to be stubborn but they had finally agreed that they needed to prepare, especially if his estimates of the shadow's forces in Tarmon Gaidon were indeed correct – in the other worlds the shadow had overrun, the Seanchan forces, with their thousands of damane. And he couldn't say for sure what the channelers trained by Master Ranma and Master Raoh would be like. Ones trained by Master Raoh might well be a greater horror than the Shadow itself. He hoped that he would not end up in a battle with them as well. 

Ilyena came for a brief visit the next day – he couldn't completely get over the fact that she had forgiven him for his actions – she left after a while though saying that there was still a little more to be dealt with in Andor.

The Aes Sedai were due in a few hours. Enough time to get used to his new throne room, not that it was particularly different from the one that Josh had Molded in Caemlyn. The throne had a basic display of the world map, along with a memo-recorder, and a simple computer system, linked with the central computer at Sai'rjan. Not that the database had anything useful yet, except for a few basic reports. Alim had apparently managed to teach nearly fifteen students to the point that they could channel on their own albeit weakly, and they couldn't do much. But it was still impressive. Josh and Taim, had been searching for potential male channelers, who they felt met the specification. They had found a total of three hundred and forty one so far, using the Ter'angreal that Alim had brought with him. They would soon have reached the initial limit of four hundred that they had set for themselves. Taim seemed to consider himself a good teacher, but he was amazed at Alim's skills in the area. Alim expected at least some of their students to be a match for the White Tower's Aes Sedai, in three to four months. Some before even. He would look into the students later. Selene was walking around working on something on her own hand computer – a relatively simple computer system that could retract into the sleeve and be made invisible easily, but could expand into a keyboard and screen system easily. The thing had considerable processing power, and from what Lews Therin knew about it, it could supposedly also use it's users brain waves to at least partially take input, or anticipate tasks. Most useful he expected, though he hadn't been able to get one himself He had wanted to ask about it back in his grandfather's home, but that would have been risky considering his grandfather's attitude towards tools in general. As long as you didn't mention them, they might as well not exist, but if you did, you usually got a lesson on just how dependency could weaken you – painful lessons. He shuddered, still for some reason he did feel some love for his grandfather, maybe it was because he knew that his grandfather did really want the best for him, and his family.

His eyes caught the indicator at the top of the entry gate. Someone was obviously about to enter. The Aes Sedai shouldn't be here yet. And he had told the Aiel outside to keep out any visitors. 'So let's see who it is. Either the Aes Sedai are early, or the Aiel have disobeyed my commands. These children are going to have to learn just who sets the rules here.' Lews Therin thought, as he pressed a switch on his control console to deactivate the displays he had been looking at.

Egwene had moved quickly to reach Rand, as soon as she heard that he was back. And so soon after the coming of the Tower Aes Sedai. Did he know about there arrival? How could he? And as usual this prompted the question of how he managed to jump so quickly from city to city. If only she could see his weaves… This morning she had woken up later than usual. The Wise Ones hadn't called her this morning. She wondered if they had perhaps noticed her brief jaunt into Tel'aran'riod. Almost frozen by fear, she had managed to make it to the Wise Ones tents, to find that most of the Wise Ones were in a tail lashing fury. It most likely had something to do with Rand. So she had asked one of the gai'shain, and it seemed that Rand had returned yesterday, and one of the first things he had done when he met the Wise Ones was point out that they were fools. Needless to say that they were not pleased. That coupled with his meeting the Aes Sedai today had everyone tense, and in a bad mood. So she had quickly run for the palace, and found a man to guide her to wherever Rand was. The man had been half terrorized at the thought of going to the Lord Dragon. The situation had never been like that before…

Now she stood in front of the gates to the throne room. The look had changed. There was an Aiel man and a maiden standing guard outside as usual, but the gate itself now bore the shape of the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai. Next to the gate was a strange board made of some metal, with small bumps that had various letters written on them. All the letters of the alphabet she thought, though they were out of order. There were also various other things on it that she didn't recognize at all, though she thought that she had seen something similar among the Ter'angreal at Rhuidean.

She moved to try to enter, but was blocked by the Aiel man. She looked towards the maiden who fortunately she knew. Nandera. "I have to speak to him. It's important" She said to the maiden, but it was the man who replied "He has said that no one is to be allowed to enter until the Aes Sedai come. And I doubt he would want to see a dirty wetlander like you anyhow."

"No Homar, I know her, she is the Aes Sedai Egwene, apprentice to the Wise Ones Bair, Amys, and Melaine, the only woman to ever be apprenticed to three Wise Ones I'd wager, and from the looks of things they've sent her with strong words for Rand al'Thor. Let her through."

"The Car'a'carn does not want to be disturbed, but let it be on your head." Homar said coldly.

Egwene ignored him. She looked to Nandera, "Nandera, I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone I was here. It might reach the… my sisters, and that could cause problems."

"They won't hear from me, or Homar" she looked pointedly at the man standing next to her. The man was about the same size as Nandera, small for an Aiel, but from the look of things he might be a good fighter. He didn't respond to Nandera's comment and just continued staring coldly at them for a while then nodded, and looked away.

Nandera pressed several of the letters on the board next to the door, and the door started to open, by itself! And when she got her first look inside the throne room she was even more shocked. The walls were covered with beautiful Silver and Gold Dragons, with some other colors mixed in. And on both sides, in the middle of the walls lay a huge copy of the Aes Sedai symbol that was on the gate. The room seemed to focus towards the throne, which somehow seemed huge, and Rand sitting there also seemed larger than usual. There were seats next to the throne and on one of them was sitting a beautiful woman. 

"You can close your mouth now Egwene" Rand said, and then he looked towards the two guards at his door, she hadn't even noticed them. "Call the guards on the outside in here." He commanded. And they conveyed the message to the guards standing outside. She decided to walk in behind them. She didn't know why she didn't move in front ignoring Rand's wishes it was just…

Lews Therin told Egwene to close her mouth after he saw her staring at the throne room. Amusing way to handle stuck up children. But first, he gestured towards the guards, on his side of the gate. This breach in discipline had to be dealt with sooner or later. "Call the guards on the other side in here." He commanded.

Nandera and Homar walked in. Homar didn't seem worried but his eyes were low. Nandera smiled at him as she walked in – that foolish mothering of theirs.

"I believe that I told you to ensure that no one who came here except for the Tower embassy were to be admitted. Not unless there was a real emergency to be dealt with. I seem to recall telling you to even keep the Wise Ones out. Was there anything in all of that that wasn't clear?" he said.

Homar looked towards Nandera but remained silent.

Nandera chose to answer, "I just thought that you would want to see her. She is Aes Sedai after all, and apprentice to three wise ones, no doubt they sent her on some important errand. Besides she's a friend of yours you should want to see her."

"She was allowed inside, despite my orders, because you 'thought' that she might have something important to say. Because you 'thought' that she is a friend I want to see. Did either of you ask her what exactly her reason for coming was? Did you perhaps not consider that I may have some reasons for not wanting people here. If the level of your discipline, I doubt you are worthy of being given a cup of water to guard." Lews Therin spoke hardening his voice towards the end.

Homar was beginning to look sick at this point. "I have toh" he said. Nandera just seemed perplexed. 'Hopeless' Lews Therin thought.

"Nandera, I have determined that you cannot be trusted to do the simplest of things. No doubt if some day the shadow sends assassins here and they give you some worthless excuses, you will decide to let them in as well. Therefore, you will return to the maidens and I do not wish to see you as part of my guard again. The other maidens can decide if they think that you are trustworthy enough so that they can use you in some other job." He said. Every word seemed to hit her like a blow. 'She really is a child' he thought. He knew that he had shamed her here, not that he was sure what good it would do, though there should be some benefit in general. Rand al'Thor had left the discipline to lax. It was a wonder he hadn't died a dozen times over by now. He watched Nandera turn around and run out of the room with disgust. Then he looked towards Homar "We can find a way for you to meet your toh later. For now, go and find a replacement for Nandera, and by tomorrow, I want to hear your suggestions on how to ensure security here to make up for your mistake. I suggest discussing it with your friends. You might find it useful some day."

"Yes Car'a'carn" Homar said.

"You may leave." Said Lews Therin, and the man bowed partially in the Aiel way before moving out.

Egwene started speaking almost as soon as he was out, "That was rude Rand al'Thor, they were only doing what they knew was good for you. You should have more respect for your people. Why if you talked that way to me, I'd let you have a piece of my mind for it. You and your high and mighty 'Lord Dragon', you're nothing but a…" Lews Therin decided that it was time to interrupt, no doubt she'd continue her foolishness for hours if she was allowed to.

"Do you have anything useful to say. Because if you don't. I'm busy" he said calmly. With all of the problems that he had to deal with. To have to deal with characters like this as well. Selene was standing to the side watching the girl with amusement.

"We should let the girl wash up at least before we do anything else, my Lord, she almost looks like an earth golem."

 Egwene seemed to be turning red in the face, not that she was likely to know what an earth golem was… he wasn't completely sure himself. "I've come to talk about the Aes Sedai." She said.

"Selene is right though" he said, you should wash up. He pressed a few buttons on his console and a sink appeared out of one of the walls, with a liquid soap dispenser to it's right. He explained it to Egwene. She seemed partially in shock. Quite natural under the circumstances, though she quickly chalked all of the stuff off as ter'angreal he must have found somewhere, and started issuing warnings about how dangerous ter'angreal could be and that he shouldn't try to use them being so ignorant. The whole thing was rather amusing really.

"So now that you're all cleaned up, please, I'm all ears." Lews Therin said to Egwene. 'who knows' he thought, 'she may have something useful to say.'

By now Egwene had noticed Selene sitting right next to him. "First don't you think that you should be telling me who this woman is, that you seem to be so comfortable with?"

'Well' Lews Therin thought, it was bound to come up some time. Fortunately they'd discussed this issue. Obviously Selene's actual relationship with him, and her origin should be kept secret. So "This is the Tarr'han Aes Sedai Selene Moerelle. Tarr'han is far away from here. And that is all you really need to know for now." Lews Therin said. "Now back to the question of why you barged in here. Hmm?"

Egwene seemed to be staring at Selene, no doubt noticing the lack of an ageless face. Selene did seem to be around twenty five or so, by normal standards. He knew she was over three hundred by now. His daughter had grown up to be a great Aes Sedai, he thought in fatherly pride.

"The Aes Sedai, that are coming here today. I don't have to tell you that they are dangerous, do I?" said Egwene

"I believe that you just did. But you needn't worry. I said that no more than three could come at a time. So that's how many they will send. Between Selene and me, we can likely deal with any three Aes Sedai unless perhaps they are all as strong as Lanfear. And just in case they bring angreal. We have prepared for that as well."

Egwene looked shocked. Possibly something to do with her encounter with Lanfear when Moiraine died. An unfortunate incident needless to say. He would change it if he could. 'I wonder if they made it through the gateway.' He thought, those explosions and the lightning had been most unusual. Possibly caused by the Eelfin on the other side, once they saw who had entered. So Moiraine could have survived. Though Lan should know. Or maybe not. He would have to ask Selene later if she knew anything about the warder bond.

"I know how strong you are." Egwene said, "But you can't behave like they're just women from the country. Even if Alviarin and her friends do decide to kneel to you. These women were sent by Elaida. And Elaida can only mean to put you in a leash. The best thing you can do is send them away."

"And of course I should depend on your hidden friends." He said. This was very amusing. He didn't think that Rand al'Thor would have been caught by this pitiful act either. That girl Moiraine, and that gleeman Thom had been good teachers to him. This Aliviarin woman would have to be looked into. It might be useful to have such devoted followers, but there was no surety. Well they weren't really important in the grand scheme of things. Not unless Tarmon Gaidon started in the next few weeks and even then he would likely still have time, unless the Forsaken resorted to using gateways. Callandor would be useful in such a scenario, but he'd have to change the wards so that he could reach it more quickly, at need. The Choedan Kal… he would consider them later. 'Ironic' he thought that his war effort might depend on the very things that caused the disaster in his own time.

He continued, "Hidden friends who are hiding themselves. And have shown no sign of any goodwill towards me so far. If you would tell me where they are, I might consider talking to them. As it is though I think I had best talk to the White Tower's emissaries."

Egwene looked towards Selene, and from the brightening of her eyes it seemed that an idea had occurred to her. "What about Selene here. You say she's an Aes Sedai from far away. Why can't you talk to them, instead of Elaida." She said, though from her voice he could tell that she did not want this, and likely didn't believe him.

He looked towards Selene, she was standing quietly to the side, watching the two of them. "Perhaps in time, but not yet. Right now, she and her mother are the only ones from Tarr'han you are likely to see."

Egwene stayed silent for a few seconds, she seemed to be trying to think of something to say. Some way to continue her plans. Not fully realizing that things were not as she had expected.

"Well, if you're going to do this, you'd best do this right" she said forcefully, as if trying to force him to do what she wanted or more likely to produce a reaction from him. "Just remember that they are Aes Sedai. Even a king listens to Aes Sedai, whether or not he agrees. Even Pedron Niall would head for the Tower in the hour if he was summoned." She seemed to be foully focused on him, ignoring Selene, so she seemed startled when Selene decided to speak. "We already know all of this dear, do you have anything important to say?" Egwene seemed annoyed at the interruption. No doubt she thought that Selene was having a bad effect on her plans. He couldn't believe that he'd put up with stuff like this. Egwene seemed to take a deep breath most likely ready to launch into more attempts to worsen his mood with relation the Aes Sedai from the Tower, when the indicator on the gate started blinking. He looked at the throne's monitor, and read the message.

"The Aes Sedai are here. Ahead of schedule. Normally I would let them wait outside, but I have nothing specific to do right now, that can't be done later. I'm sure you'd like to stay and meet them, right Egwene?" he said. Egwene looked positively horrified. "No you can't let them see me. Is there a back way out of here", she asked looking around. Obviously she could see none. Not that there weren't emergency exits, but there was no point in letting people know about them. Plus seeing the terrified look on her face was too amusing. He knew he was being childish but he didn't care. He could afford to indulge himself once in a while.

To continue to allow this hilarious situation and maybe let the girl meet the Aes Sedai, or to hide her. 'Well, the girl could be useful', he thought. Not that that was really likely, but if she didn't want to go with these so called Aes Sedai, he had no right to force her.

"Okay come stand to my side." He said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked obviously worried, or perhaps thinking that he was going to take her into his protection.

"Just stand here." He pulled her into place, and then spun a shield around her to make her invisible.

"Don't move around, the shield tends to ripple if you move."

"What have you done?" she asked fearfully, no doubt realizing that he had used Saidin. And maybe also seeing the shocked faces of the Aiel guards at the door.

"Made you invisible. That doesn't mean that I've shielded against sound, so stay quiet, if you don't want to be heard." He said. He motioned to Selene to sit down, and then pressed the unlock switch on his control console, along with the command button for opening the gates.


	8. Chapter 5

Egwene stood staring at the opening door. She was in shock about everything that was going on. The look of the throne room, Rand's behavior, the woman Selene, who she had realized was much stronger than Nynaeve, and Nynaeve was a match for the Forsaken in strength. It was incredible. And now this invisibility. Egwene had seen Moiraine use something like it once, but how had Rand learnt it. And what was he planning. She wished she had managed to make him angry at the Aes Sedai, to make him misbehave with them, but Rand wasn't acting like his usual self, and she shuddered to think what that might mean. And the supposed Aes Sedai Selene had interrupted her at just the wrong time.

Now she watched the Aes Sedai enter as the gate slided open. The Aiel guards stood ready for anything, and paying close attention to the Aes Sedai. Rand on the other hand seemed to be looking at something on the arm of his throne. She could see three Aes Sedai in front, linked, she stared trying to figure out how they were doing it. Nearly a dozen servants walked behind them, carrying large chests. The Aes Sedai seemed to be goggling at the throne room, until they realized what they were doing, and their faces again assumed the Aes Sedai mask of serenity. The servants felt no such compulsion though, and they continued to stare wide-eyed at everything as they moved forward. Finally after a while the Aes Sedai came to a stop near Rand. Both Rand and Selene seemed utterly calm.

"They are linked." Selene said. The three Aes Sedai suddenly seemed to stare at her. No doubt they could feel her strength in the power. Which made Egwene wonder if the Aes Sedai could feel her, or if Rand's invisibility extended to that as well. At least none of the Aes Sedai looked towards her, so hopefully it was alright.

Rand nodded to Selene, then looked towards the Aes Sedai "You will not channel around me. Let it go."

Three Aes Sedai faces stared at him. She wondered what he would do if they didn't, what he could do. Shielding someone who was embracing Saidar was a lot harder than shielding her before hand. And what would they do if he tried anything? Then again, Selene could likely shield them all alone, and the Aes Sedai seemed to realize this. They let the Power go. Egwene sighed in relief.

Coiren stood before the gate to this Rand al'Thor's throne room. The gate was quite presumptuously shaped like the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai. The Aiel guards had sent a message inside, using a ter'angreal of some sort. She wondered where the boy would have gotten such a thing. She waited linked to Nesune and Galina, she was in control of the link. It had been decided that should there be a need to act, a link would be useful. They could not bring a whole circle of thirteen the first time in order to lull the Rand al'Thor's people, so this was the best that could be done, under the circumstances. There was a possibility that they would get lucky or manage to convince al'Thor to come with them today, and she had carefully planned what she would say, and what arguments she would give to answer his questions. This would all be easy, if the boy was as greedy as reports indicated. Yes, no real problem for someone of her abilities.

Suddenly she saw a light shine above the gate, and the symbol of the Aes Sedai parted, with the Flame of Tar Valon going to one side, and the Dragon Fang to the other. She moved forward, and so did Nesune and Galina walking beside her. She had scarcely taken more than a few steps, when she became aware of her surroundings. She stood suddenly still, her breath caught, and she knew that her sisters had done much the same. The whole room was a work of art. The room was covered with winged creatures of some sort, made of silver and gold, much like the shape on the Dragon banner she thought. There was a light in the room, it seemed beautiful somehow, and she couldn't find it's source, there were no lamps or any such, nor any signs of globes made of the Power, it was all very breath-taking. And there sat on the throne, a man looking quite impressive. The Dragon Reborn. Suddenly it occurred to her that if this was his throne room, something no one in this time could hope to make, then maybe, maybe…

Suddenly she came back to her senses. She had a job to do here. Obviously this throne room was made to awe whoever walked in, and she secretly admitted that she had been awed, but now she was in control, and she could feel through the link that Nesune and Galina were also back to themselves. Now that she saw, the throne had seats on both sides for people to sit and one was occupied by a woman in her late twenties, or early thirties, and quite beautiful. Perhaps she was his advisor, though they had never heard of such. 

"They are linked." She heard the woman say. She was shocked, but managed to control it this time. They had never thought that he would have a female channeler with him helping him. Though obviously the girl was no Aes Sedai, and hadn't even channeled long enough to take on the Ageless appearance. Still, she found herself feeling the strength of the girl, though she shouldn't really have been able to feel it very well this far, and was again shocked. This time she thought that her shock was shared by her sisters. The girl was strong, very strong. Even much stronger than that girl Nynaeve was expected to be when she reached full strength. This was not good. The girl likely had the strength to shield them all even linked, assuming of course that she knew how. By how easily she had recognized a link, she could tell that the girl obviously knew something of channeling.

She saw the… boy nod toward the girl, and then turn his stare toward them. She suddenly felt that she was being looked into, that he was going to see her every thought. This must be what it was like for an ordinary person, when they were stared at by an Aes Sedai, she felt caught. "You will not channel around me, Let it go." She heard him say.

This was outrageous, but there was little that could be done under the circumstances. He was no doubt embracing Saidin right this moment. And with that girl with him, she didn't think they would be able to do much anyway. So she let the link go and released Saidar.

He nodded to them, as soon as they let it go, as if he had known, though of course that was impossible. More likely he had set it up with the girl to give a signal of some sort when they released Saidar, though she admitted that she had not seen it.

"So, let's start", he said "You are welcome guests, and have just arrived."

She felt a moment of confusion for some reason that she didn't know, but she shrugged it off, gathering herself, she began the introductions. "I have the honor to be Coiren Saeldain Aes Sedai, Ambassador of the White Tower, and emissary of Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, the Watcher of the Seals, the Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat" she announced somehow her tone did not carry as it should have, and from the smile she could see on his face, she could see that this al'Thor – she said it that way in her thoughts to cover the awe that she was feeling here – thought that she had said something truly foolish. She felt embarrassment quickly followed by anger, though she held herself under control, and continued, introducing her companions.

The Dragon Reborn – she had a feeling that the title was more true than she had thought – simply nodded, and gestured for her to continue. Somehow that seemed to destroy the overall effect that she had intended. As if what she had said had said, and that she and her companions were not really important.

She had a feeling that it was time to rethink her strategy. The gift she had brought may not have exactly the effect she had intended in someone who commanded such splendor. And the offer for protection might not be taken very well either. Still she had her mission, and Elaida would have her head, if she failed. Best to go on as planned for now, and if it did not go well, they could re-plan their approach the next time they came. They had plenty of time after all.

"We bring a gracious invitation to the Dragon Reborn, the Amyrlin Seat…" and she continued to speak, mentioning all of the important points, that since the Tower accepted him, he should come with them, and he would be treated with all the honor that he deserved – how much he deserved being debatable. Somewhere during her speech she started getting the feeling that she was wasting his time, she didn't know why she thought it, or why it should matter, seeing how he was merely a male channeler just like any False Dragon before him, maybe more dangerous. She should be concerned with how to protect the world from him, and his foolishness, as was her duty as Aes Sedai… She pointed out, that if he chose to come with them, the Amyrlin would put the Tower's authority behind him, and grant him protection, though in what way the Tower put it's authority behind him was always open to debate, she thought with amusement. "In token of this, the Amyrlin Seat sends this trifling gift." She gestured to the serving women to open them. It took them a while to understand, and then they opened the chests they had brought with them, revealing the leather sacks filling the chests, she gestured again, this time harder, and the serving women started untying them. Gold coins started spilling out, along with gems and necklaces of various sorts. She looked towards the Dragon Reborn to see his reaction, for a moment there, she thought she saw disgust flicker across his expression, disgust mixed with pity, a moment and then it was gone. His face became unreadable, she realized then that in most of this conversation, except for a few times, his face had remained unreadable in a mask that she herself who had lived long among Aes Sedai could not easily penetrate.

When they got back, she was going to sit with Nesune, and go through this whole interview again. There were too many things here that were not right.

Had these been normal circumstances, she would have thought that he was going mad, and that was the cause of his odd behavior. But with all of the other strange things going on, she couldn't be certain. For all that Aes Sedai wore masks for everyone else she could see through the masks of other sisters, and right now, she could see that Galina, and Nesune were nearly as uncomfortable about this whole situation as she was.

She saw the Dragon looking at her, and then he spoke, and she felt something hidden in his voice, though she couldn't tell what it was, "That is a great deal of gold. I have no real need of it however. Nevertheless, I have recently opened a school for scholars and builders here in Cairhein, would you like to contribute to it, with the gold in these chests?"

This was definitely not a reaction that she had expected or planned for. She was suddenly at a loss of what to do. It was after all a great deal of gold, and putting it into just some school… fortunately, Nesune seemed to see her anxiety – though she had kept her face reasonably straight – and spoke, "I would like to see this school, and discuss with you perhaps your intentions with it. I am sure that Coiren sedai will agree with whatever judgement I make."

"Yes, yes" Coiren said in relief, "I will allow Nesune to see to the use of the money in this regard." She had a feeling that he could see her relief though. Now she had to maneuver this conversation back towards his going to the White Tower with them.

Rand al'Thor decided to interrupt her thoughts at this point, though he was looking at Nesune, "I will be making a visit to the school tomorrow, would you like me to show it to you, while I am there?"

"Certainly my Lord Dragon, I would be most pleased to join you." Said Nesune.

"Good, then if you can come in the morning, we will go together." Said Rand al'Thor. Then he looked to all of them.

"It has been good meeting you. But now, if you will excuse me, I have much work to do right now. Any important points you wish to discuss, Nesune can handle tomorrow." He said standing up.

This was turning out worse than she had thought, she had not been able to control this meeting at all. Obviously she should have planned more thoroughly, though she couldn't see how she could have anticipated this. It may even be that they would have to accelerate the plan for his capture, if all their meetings were going to be like this. Perhaps she should try again, she would not be routed this easily.

"My Lord Dragon, where I am sure that what you have to do is important" she said, as if anything could really be more important then the Aes Sedai, "You have to consider yourself and the future of this world. In the White Tower you could be protected, here you could die from an arrow fired from any window you passed by. It would really be best if you were to accompany us back to the Tower as quickly as possible."

For the first time in the whole interview, she saw his expression harden, a light seemed to shine in his eyes.

"Child" he said, "You cannot even begin to understand most of the problems that must be solved if this world is to survive. Or do you perhaps think that all it needs is for me to walk in front of the Dark One, wielding Saidin, and he will fall at my feet. I have seen what will happen to this world if the proper measures are not taken. Besides that there is the obvious problem that you seem to be overlooking. Those Aes Sedai of yours that you call the Black Ajah. If I were at the Tower, I would have to forever be looking over my shoulder to watch for attack. And that is assuming that they do not manage to form a circle or two, or use _angreal_ to increase their strengths and attack me that way. Here at least, the number of channelers surrounding me can be controlled, and unknown channelers an be detected with shields… what you would call wards. So as you can see, it would be much more risky for me to go to your White Tower, then it will be for me to be here. Here at least, most of the attackers are not likely to be channelers. Now as I said, I have work that needs to be looked into. Incidentally, where is Gawyn, I asked that you bring him with you."

The shocks just kept on coming it seemed. First, he called her a child, definitely a sign of madness, unless it meant something else, she couldn't think clearly, though she felt that… then his comment about the Black Ajah, could not be easily denied. She could not say with surety that it did not exist, though she did not believe in her heart that any Aes Sedai would lower herself to serving the Dark One. He would likely notice hedging about, perhaps anger would be best, though he may be right. Then again, Elaida would have her head if she didn't bring him with her. Well the risk of Black Ajah could be handled. This situation was deteriorating rapidly. For one thing, he had no respect for Aes Sedai. They most likely would have to move to the other plan. She noticed that he was still standing expecting them to leave. His statement about the Black Ajah would also hinder any suggestions that he take one of them as advisor. One more try she thought, then gathering herself she raised her voice as if he had roused her temper, which he had in truth "How dare you suggest that Aes Sedai would serve the Dark One. The Aes Sedai have protected this world since the breaking." true, loosely interpreted. Just as she was about to say something more, she realized that the light in his eyes, and the hardness of his face, had suddenly increased, she could feel her stomach churning. Here she was standing in front of a male channeler and she couldn't even embrace Saidar. The girl would warn him. She could feel sweat slowly moving down her hairline. This was the first she had noticed that she was not maintaining the Aes Sedai indifference to the temperature, and that it was hot. Distractions at a time like this, plus he must see that she had weakened through her loss of control.

"Do you really believe that there is no Black Ajah Coiren? I think that I would like to see you say that straight out. Say it. 'There is no Black Ajah, there are no Aes Sedai Friends of the Dark'. Well…"

Damn! She knew she was caught. She with all her experience in mediation was being outmaneuvered by someone not yet in his middle years. She looked around at Nesune and Galina. Galina seemed to be in a fury, and Nesune, well Nesune seemed to look… amazed, she thought. Well they weren't going to be of any help. She had to change the subject. Only she couldn't think how. Gawyn was standing outside the door, and he had asked about Gawyn, though she could see no way to use that in face of the more important problem at hand.

He spoke again, "You seem to be having problems Coiren. No matter. Tell Gawyn, that I have setup a regency in Andor, under the Lady Dyelin. If Elayne does not arrive within the next six months at most. A new queen of Andor will be chosen. Who, I can't say with surety, and it is not really my concern. So it would be best to work fast. In case you don't know however, Elayne is with the Rebel Aes Sedai. So there is still plenty of time, if he is quick about it."

This was unexpected. Why had he put Andor under a strong woman like Dyelin, instead of a puppet that he could use easily. Still, Elayne becoming queen was far too important. "I will see that he gets the message." She said.

"Very well" he said, he looked at Nesune "I will see you tomorrow." And then he looked towards all of them "besides Nesune however, it would be best that none of you come into the area around the palace for a mile or so, without permission. I would prefer not to have non-threats activating my shields."

Yet another problem. Normally she would not believe that someone with only a few years of channeling behind him could master wards, but there were simply too many surprises here.

They would have to plan carefully before they decided to make a move, whatever move that was. She had a lot to think about, so she and her sisters, bowed a little, and turned around to leave. They would not show more respect to him. Especially with the way he had been treating them. Yes, there were plans to be made, and he would be taught the consequences of forgetting his place.

Egwene stood watching as the Aes Sedai left. She had wanted him to be arrogant, but this had been extreme. At times, she had almost been overcome by the urge to go over to him and box his ears for treating Aes Sedai in such a manner. But there was another point weighing in her mind. Rand looked at her and said, "I've removed the invisibility. Now, I am sure that you are tired and would like to get back to the tents." He had sit down, and was moving his fingers over something on the arm of his throne. "That was interesting" she heard Selene say. She had almost forgotten about the woman. Before they started discussing the Aes Sedai, she decided to cut in, "What were you saying about the regency in Andor? The throne is Elayne's by right. It is not for you to choose who gets it. And what were you at, behaving that way with Aes Sedai?" her voice had gotten loud to the end. Not too much she thought. Not half as much as he deserved, but she had to stay calm. Shouting never accomplished anything, she had learned. 

It was Selene who answered her, "It was the people's choice, and in any case, it is unreasonable for the land to be without a ruler. If your friend Elayne cannot do her duties, then they should be taken over by someone who can."

That made her mad, this was her friend they were talking about. They didn't even care what she thought. Ever since Rand had come back with this woman he had been behaving strangely, she looked towards him "Elayne is the rightful queen of Andor, Rand . How could you do this to her. She loves you. I know she wrote it in her letters, as if what you were doing in the Stone wasn't enough to show it. How can you betray her like this?" and then she looked towards Selene, "And who is this woman, you say she's an Aes Sedai, but you didn't show the ambassadors from the Tower half as much respect as you show her. She has practically appear out of thin air. How much do you even know about her?"

Rand looked at her, that strange light had gone out of his eyes, but there was still an unnerving hardness to him. "Even if she loves me, it doesn't effect her responsibilities to her people. If she wants to be their queen then she must earn that right. I would suggest that you get a message to her if you can. After that, it will be her responsibility. As for Selene, I know enough to know that I can trust her without question." Said Rand. And then he pressed a few more of those… whatevers on the arm of his throne and stood up. A covering appeared on the throne behind him, and then it vasnished. Suddenly she saw slash of light near the gate out of the throne room. It seemed to twist into a hole in the air and she could see some other place on the other side. Rand gestured to the  guards at the door, and then looked at Selene "The only way we can work undisturbed is if we go some place else. And I'd like to see if your mother is back yet, saying that he walked across the room, and through that hole, followed by Selene. Some Aiel had already gone through, possibly looking for enemies. A few more Aeil men and maidens followed him after he and Selene stepped through, and then she saw the hole, twist again into a slash of light, that vanished, leaving an afterimage in her eyes.


	9. Author's Rambling 1

This story is being discontinued.

Fact is that no one seems to be reading it.

I'm getting no reviews at all.

Anyhow, if someone wants to continue it, they can email me, and I'll let them know what I had planned. Not to say that it's necessary to handle things my way.

Heck, writing a WOT style fic might well be too big a project for a single author, better to split it up. Still, that's a matter of personal choice.

Well…. That's all for now.

Take Care, people

Until later… maybe.


	10. Author's Rambling 2

Well…

First off, I'm totally overwhelmed by the number of reviews. Thank You. I might well have to continue it, just for that J

My replies to people's comments. Not in any particular order:

**To those who want to know why it's not in the Wheel of Time section:**

It was. Until recently. I decided that if in nearly a month no ones was reading it, that it must be worthless. Still, hope being what it is, I decided to try shifting it to the Ranma section, since after all that is the section I visit most often.

In the WoT section, it would likely have been read by a hundred people, probably around the time that people started celebrating the start of the 22nd century.

**Why is Ranma not appearing:**

I've attempted to write this story in the WoT format. Moderate level of detail, instead of extreme level, and the story being told from a certain person's POV.

As you may have noticed in WoT, there are times that a character can vanish for a whole book(like Mat in book 8 for example).

The situation isn't going to be as bad here but since Ranma, and Raoh currently constitute a very different part of the story, it may be a while until they are seen. Though everyone will be returning to Randland in three months(story wise).

**Ranma's arrival in Randland:**

The way this story evolved(in my mind), I decided to bring Ranma in around Hawkwing's time. So that his story could be told separately if I so chose. Plus, it was a time of lesser persecution for male channelers. So Ranma could grow without being hunted, and since he couldn't communicate with the people yet, he wouldn't be as biased by their opinions about the taint, and could find a way to deal with it, once he started channeling. Belief has a large effect on a person's view of reality after all.

**Ranma, Raoh and Bremen are too powerful:**

They are very powerful, though not a match for the DO… yet.

Here my POV was that they should be allowed to grow reasonably. No keeping them weak for the sake of the story. With the taint awakening previous lives, one would expect at least some of them to be interesting.

A thousand years is a long time. Especially if people have intelligence(look at what's happened in the last thousand years in our world, and Ranma has some of that as his background)

Still, Ranma and Raoh are not going to be on a rampage yet(not unless the shadow proves itself very very powerful wink  wink )

For now though, the Wizard's Second Rule from the Sword of Truth series applies: "Sometimes the best of intentions can lead to the greatest of harm."

If you keep helping people out and don't let them grow by themselves, they stay weak and dependent on you. Only through adversity do we become stronger. And Ranma and lot realize this, and thus will not jump in to solve all of Randland's problems.

**Ranma craziness is absent:**

Well, as I said, it has been a thousand years. After a thousand years, I wouldn't expect anyone to be a complete buffoon(Happosai excepted). A thousand year old could be senile, but not the canon Ranma kind of crazy.

Plus, this is somewhat serious story, too many humor oriented stunts might ruin it.

A thousand year old Akane malleting Ranma might be amusing, but that's just a bit too extreme for a story like this at least from my POV.

Still, Rand and lot are not Ranma's only decendents. Though most do have a more distant link to him than Rand/Lews Therin.

Crazy martial arts, and martial artists still thrive on some worlds J

[Woah… Working on a story with such a large scope… The HORROR!!! What was I thinking when I conceived this monstrosity. And where are co-authors when you need them???]

**Rand seems to have been thrown out:**

Let's see… Lews Therin = 500 years old, Rand = 20 years old. Allowed to mix evenly, whose personality do you think is more likely to come out dominant. Unfortunately Lews Therin just has too many experiences, and since the effects/memories of his time of madness were removed, he's not the wreckage of a human being we see in our story.

Plus imagine Elayne, Min and Aviendha's reactions to finding out that Rand is already married J

Still Rand's behavior will be visible at times, though the pattern's manipulation of his mind is not what it was.

The pattern's reaction to not being able to control him like before might well be interesting.

**Rand was hard on his guards:**

Believe me, it hurt me more than it hurt them J

Seriously though, Rand lets things run completely out of control. Imagine what would happen, if one of the Forsaken walked in disguised as Sorilea. Easy victory for the Shadow wouldn't you say?

You have to be careful when a lot depends on you.

**Why was the past only briefly mentioned in a summary:**

Well, originally it had been my intention to handle the knowledge that came in through flashbacks and the like. Unfortunately, the only person who mailed me about my story, said that he found it all too hard to swallow. So I decided that apart from the explanations in the story – there are plenty of details still hidden – a basic summary in the beginning might help with some of the readers. I seem to recall writing in the intro that people should preferably ignore the history, if they didn't actually feel a need for it. Or to read it afterwards. 

**Lews Therin accepted being in Rand's body too easily:**

Actually there's a considerable period of time between his first waking up with Ilyena and the next scene. He's come to accept it in the meantime – If someone wants to write what happened in that time period, they can, and I'll attach it as a side-story. Plus Lews Therin can go to Tel'aran'riod and be in his old body for a while if he wants.

**Rand doesn't deserve what happened to him:**

Personally, I think that having the memories of your past lives back, to be yourself, instead of just a small piece of yourself is…

Nothing bad has happened to him. All of his experiences are still there, it's just that Lews Therin's perspective supercedes his. Right now he's Lews Therin + Rand, instead of just Rand, or just Lews Therin. Lews Therin for example for all of his experience wouldn't really know how to survive in Rand's life. Though with the way things are likely to change anyway…

Think of this situation as Rand having been given time to grow and learn that he didn't find in the actual series. And so he'll be better equipped in some ways than he previously was. At other times, he might still get his butt kicked.

**The Aes Sedai should have had a backup plan:**

Well as I don't remember who says, "Elaida must have sent her envoys to meet a shepard, if a Shepard in a silk coat". What they got wasn't at all what they were expecting. And if I remember correctly(it's been a while since I wrote the story to it's current point), they were railroaded. Not to say that they're likely to take it sitting down. Their next meeting should be more interesting… whenever it happens.

Ahh… I wish I could get RJ's advice on how to handle this story. Though I think I can write it on my own(somewhat… the number of variables is very high, how does RJ handle this stuff?). Anyway, that being said.

I repeat… **Co-authors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

Come on people, this story is huge!!!. The only way it's going to be completed in less than two or three years, is if I have help(plus unlike RJ, I'm not getting paid for this J )

Even a single chapter can take a while to turn out, with RL in the way. I have college to worry about after all.

So, if anyone out there is willing, mail me at khurrum_mahmood@yahoo.com, and we can discuss what I've got planned, what you think, and where we should go from here.

Otherwise, expect the next chapter in a week, and we'll see where it goes from there.

And I thank you all for reading my story

Take Care people.

I hope to hear from you.

[ p.s. if anyone wants to base their own story on mine, they are completely welcome. Though I'd prefer if they'd help me write this one instead. ]


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